


The (Hopefully Fixed) Legend of Korra

by lia233



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Avatar State, Bending (Avatar), F/F, F/M, Korrasami is Canon, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 15:48:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21018281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lia233/pseuds/lia233
Summary: I was angry and wanted solace after having to deal with the disappointment that was The Legend of Korra. This happened. It’s probably just as bad, if not worse, but it made me feel better. No weird Raava and Vaatu stuff, thinly veiled “’Murica!” stupidity, terrible love squares, and ambiguously “bisexual” characters. (Hopefully.) Never underestimate the power of an angry teenager and gen fanfiction.Bear with me and my awful writing. Please?Thanks.





	1. Chapter 1

After The Hundred Year War

My husband, Avatar Aang, ended the Hundred Year War and restored peace to the world by defeating Firelord Ozai. He mastered the four elements in under a year and helped restore balance to the world.

He was not alone. I was with him, the last Waterbender native to the Southern Water Tribe, and so were our companions. My brother Sokka, a witty warrior who had no bending but had enough ingenuity to win against talented benders. Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, a banished prince of great honor and an even greater destiny awaiting him. Suki, the compassionate and loyal leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. Toph Beifong, who was _probably_ the greatest earthbender in the world and tougher than nails.

That doesn’t even cover all those who helped us and played a major role in our legend along the way. Now, the Hundred Year war has long past, and what happened after it is the story that must be told.

Avatar Aang restored the Fire Nation’s colonies in the Earth Kingdom back to the Earth Kingdom, and he tried his hardest to help the world recover. My brother and I helped Aang and helped lead our own people forward, reconstructing after the Fire Nation had ravaged our home for a century. Zuko became Firelord and tried to help his country repent for its past wrongs while leading it forward into a new era of hope and liberty. Toph spread her knowledge of earthbending and metalbending, and helped restore her home kingdom to peace.

But lifetimes don’t last forever, especially when you’ve lived a hundred years frozen in ice. Aang passed, and the new Avatar, Korra, was born. This is her story, her legend.

Earth, Fire, Air, Water. The four nations are still unbalanced after the hundred-year war, and only the Avatar can bring peace and harmony to the world.

Although Korra hasn’t been able to learn the other elements, I have faith that she will bring balance to the world.


	2. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm the avatar and you gotta deal with it!"  
But my version.

“With all due respect Senna, we’ve had many false alarms in the Water Tribes as to the new Avatar’s identity. How can you be so sure your daughter is the Avatar?”

The hospitable smile of the sweet-faced Water Tribe woman twitched into a smirk, her eyes glinting in the soft yellow-tinted lighting of her igloo home. She thought of the time her daughter had spoken about how she had yanked the Firelord by the beard and ended The Hundred Year War in her last life. A quick chat with Katara had confirmed this rather hilarious detail about Avatar Aang and Firelord Ozai’s famous confrontation that had ended the Hundred Year War. “Korra honey, could you come out here?” The pitter-patter of a toddler’s stumbling attempt at running echoed through the dwelling. The little potential Avatar emerged, a tiny bundle of speedy movements, dark hair concealing her glinting aquamarine eyes, and ferocious jets of waterbending aimed straight at the previously stone-faced members of the White Lotus.

“Who are you, why do you look so stupid, and why are you in my house!” The little hellion demanded in a tone somewhere between a yell and a shriek. The water she was bending menacingly turned into razor-sharp icicles before the members of the White Lotus. Their stoic stares turned a bit fearful before they straightened themselves out again. One member to the right was a little embarrassed that even a little girl could notice how terrible their uniforms looked, but his face betrayed nothing but a little concern that he was about to get stabbed with ice by a toddler. Her waterbending was advanced for her age, far surpassing the lessons father had taught her so far.

Finally, as a dribble of sweat gathered on the fashion-sensitive member of the White Lotus’s brow, the girl’s mother intervened. “Settle down sweetie,” She placated, “These men are nice and they’re here to give you a test.” The pretty young woman glanced at the affronted faces of the White Lotus. They probably weren’t expecting to get interrogated and threatened by someone hardly taller than their knees.

Korra begrudgingly let the bended water drop to the ground, a soft splash echoing through the small home. She had wanted to beat those men up. ‘They look evil, with their stupid clothes,’ Korra thought. ‘They should be evil,’ It never crossed her mind that the far more experienced benders could kill her without even trying.

Her mother’s smirk never wavered as she continued to talk to the White Lotus, “You do have the artifacts to test her with, right?”

“Of course, we do ma’am,” The recently appointed Captain assured, his stoic look returned as Korra was contained by her mother. He really hoped this little snot wouldn’t be the Avatar. He’d joined the White Lotus hoping to bring balance to the world with the help of an almighty righteous Avatar, not to babysit a tempestuous brat first. He continued, “The artifacts were recovered after the invasion of the Air Nomads by the White Lotus,” His voice was flat, his speech almost robotic, like he’d voiced the same line to dozens of other families convinced their child was the Avatar. Perhaps he had. A twitch of the guard’s lips upwards could have passed as a miniscule smile, if you squinted in the soft light.

“Well I don’t need a test! I’m fine unlike you stupid-heads!” the little girl screeched, even as her mother shushed her and sat her and the White Lotus down on some soft animal pelts. Her mother was embarrassed by her rude behavior and hoped Korra would absorb the lessons in manners she had taught her soon.

Korra was indeed the Avatar, to the disappointment of the ambitious young Captain Xin of that White Lotus mission. Korra’s parents couldn’t be happier to enjoy the moderately sadistic pleasure of watching someone else deal with a snot-nosed little Avatar.

Underneath all that though, Korra’s parents couldn’t help but wish that their daughter wasn’t the Avatar; they were so fearful of what might happen to her. Someone needed to be the Avatar, but did their daughter really need to be the one with the target on her back and an incomparable duty to serve the world? Soon they knew their fears would be realized, but they never knew to what extent. How could they protect their daughter with all the evil in the world?

The White Lotus told the family that Korra would need to wait until she was of age to begin her Avatar journey. What age that was, they never specified. The little girl wanted to grow up _now_ because to her, her journey couldn’t come swiftly enough. 

Unfortunately for all, as the Spirits would have it, they never did give her much of a journey. Even after she became old enough and had mastered waterbending, she was still only a fledgling chick locked in the utilitarian cage of the White Lotus compound. Nobody would have dared to do that to her, the Avatar, if they knew how she would suffer for it. If they knew how by extension, their entire world would suffer because of her captivity in the South Pole.


	3. Book One: Earth

The first book of the series begins!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra exists and has sucky social skills. Also, the White Lotus suckkk.

The loudly whispered rumors in the halls, the courtyards, the streets of the dreary compound bothered Korra. She wished they didn’t, the snide comments that maybe she _wasn’t_ the Avatar hurt more than she could let on. Ever since she was small, her entire identity was that of the Avatar to most. She had never had a chance to grow and be anything of her own. As much as she hated when people only saw her as the Avatar, Korra wasn’t sure who she was without that identity assigned to her.

The questions about her truly being the Avatar had started months ago. None of the masters the White Lotus brought to the compound had been able to teach her earthbending. At almost seventeen, she could only waterbend, and it didn’t seem to matter that she had mastered that. She still had three more elements to master, after all.

She shoved her boots onto her feet and walked out of her room, determined to get permission to go to the healing huts today. Healing always soothed her worries as she helped others, and she needed to clear her head badly today. She trudged through the thick snow of the South Pole to find Captain Xin, hopefully he would let her go for the day. Knowing him, there was a good chance he’d make her grovel and beg first. God, she hated his stupid dedication to segmenting and scheduling every minute of her life to put her on the best path to help the world.

She found him, as expected, in the canteen eating seal jerky and chugging down some amber-colored Fire Nation whisky, flames tickling his lips as he firebended with the warmth the whisky gave him. For being so determined to make sure that Korra’s life was perfect, his was far from it. She never was quite sure either why a firebender would want to be stationed in the icy South Pole even if it was to “train and prepare the Avatar.”

“Captain Xin sir,” Korra began, hoping to pry his attention away from his bottle. He glanced at her expectantly. Captain Xin did not like to have his time wasted, least of all by his charge that he despised by this point.

“I’m listening,” He rasped and rolled his eyes as he tilted his head towards her. ‘Can’t this imbecile of a girl just ask what she wants already?’ he thought to himself, annoyed and hazy with inebriation.

“Can I go to the healing huts today sir? Katara always needs more volunteers to help the other healers there,” Korra asked, twisting her face into the meekest expression she could.

Xin was tempted to torture Korra and keep her here, but he really wanted to focus on his bottle and flirting with a newly transferred guard. He was a captain, and he thought himself devilishly handsome. She would be an idiot to resist him and his very natural charisma, he thought. So, he bestowed mercy on the young Avatar. _‘Some_ Avatar she is,’ he couldn’t help but grin a little at the malicious thought. Not that he tried to repress it much.

“Well, Korra,” Xin was still smirking as he replied, “you haven’t made much progress at all with earthbending yet, have you?” Korra almost flinched at the thinly veiled insult there but nodded passively anyway. “No point in keeping you here when you aren’t making any real progress. You can go, just be back before dark. Wouldn’t want you to miss dinner or get too far if you’re kidnapped. I’d probably get in trouble for that,” He replied, quiet with almost-apathy. He wrote a small slip of permission to give to the guards at the gate, passing it to her without making eye-contact.

“Thank you, sir,” Korra tried to smile with gratitude, it looked more like a grimace. “I’ll be back before dark, don’t worry,” she promised, crossing her fingers and brandishing them like a dagger at her side, out of his sight. Captain Xin only grunted in reply as he emptied his bottle and got up to get another. The ambitions of his youth seemed aimless now. He had never gotten any recognition for all his labor, so why should he try anymore? Maybe it was fruitless to blame Korra, but everything else was, too.

Korra walked as quickly as she could out of the canteen. She was afraid that if she broke into a run, Xin would call her back to admonish her and force her to stay in the compound. She _needed_ to get away from here. She might be chained to her destiny, to this compound, but she needed to pretend she had freedom from all that. At least for a little while.

The pale sun of the Antarctic promised a quick retrieval of the darkness of the night, so Korra quickened her pace. She needed to make use of every second out of the compound. Practically running to find Naga in her pen, she smiled at the enthusiasm of her polar bear-dog that doubled as her best friend. Naga was barking joyfully, it would have been yipping if the barks weren’t so deep, and practically threw herself at Korra. “Easy girl. Come on, we have work to do, people to help,” she smiled as she saddled up Naga. Naga tilted her head, it really seemed that she understood what Korra was saying. There was an unasked question in those loyal eyes though. “No,” Korra asserted, her eyes scrunched up a little. Naga whined and crashed her entire body into the snow, covering her eyes with her paws. “Fine, I’ll get you a treat later, if you’re good,” Naga almost seemed smug, like she was smirking as she barked a little and wagged her tail, easily rising from the powdery mess of snow and straw.

Korra climbed gracelessly on Naga’s back, stumbling a bit and cursing. After all these years, you’d think she’d be able to mount the polar bear-dog without a hitch. Korra thought that that was her problem, there were so many expectations of things she should be able to do by now, yet she couldn’t do them. Smiling through her self-pitying thoughts, Korra spurred on Naga, told her to go, and the powerful beast took huge strides across the snow. The wind lashed across her, chilling her even through her parka and other layers.

As she neared the large gateway to and from the compound, the guard hailed her to stop. Figures. They couldn’t let her leave the compound all willy-nilly, could they? Korra was a little annoyed. The White Lotus should trust her by now, for she had submitted long ago to their authority. Even if she did have rebellious thoughts, she knew she could never act on them. She knew their threats weren’t empty, having experienced their punishments before. She stretched her neck inattentively as she ordered Naga to slow down, a crick was bothering her. At least that’s what she told herself, there was no way he was anxious. The looming wall of the compound was at least twenty feet tall, and it still intimidated Korra sometimes.

Her skin crawled at being forced to stay here. She wanted to explore and travel the world, and she couldn’t do it if she was cooped up here. She wanted to _leave,_ but how would she escape? Besides, how could she leave everyone she cared about behind to worry about her? Her parents were always worried about her safety anyway. How could she do that to them willingly? She couldn’t, was the answer. She wouldn’t.

The guard who had hailed her stepped out of the secured door to the gate tower. The metal gate was still closed, and even if it wasn’t, another guard was standing in the tower. He could shut it in a matter of seconds. Korra might be a master at waterbending, but the White Lotus guards weren’t slouches either. The guard could at least stall her, long enough for the gate to close, and a warning siren sent out. She wouldn’t be leaving without their willing it.

“Avatar Korra, do you have permission to leave the compound?”

“Yes, from Captain Xin. I will be at the healing huts with Katara, and I have orders to return before dark,” Korra replied, blankly. The less effort she put in, the less likely they were to question her. It wasn’t like she was lying, but if they thought she was trying to sneak something, they could refuse to open the gate.

“Alright. Return by dusk,” he said, still scrutinizing her for anything suspicious. He signaled the other guard to open the gate, and she spurred Naga to go through. Naga loped gracefully through the snowy plain, the Southern Water Tribe’s main city wasn’t far. The healing huts were in the east of the city, by the harbor to intercept any casualties from sea, but they were still close enough to the rest of the small city to easily bring any wounded or sick to them. Korra looked at the sun’s placement in the sky, shielding her eyes a bit with one hand. She had about three hours. Not much time to volunteer, but she would make it work. She urged Naga to go faster.

\----

Tenzin sat, hunched over his paperwork and reports. God, the mess his father had left him, without knowing it. The Earth Kingdom was a disaster, and the monarchy was doing nothing to help. Those slime-bucket Freedom Fighters preaching genocide of the Fire Nation for their “crooked ways.” They were cowards for waiting quietly until his father had died and the new Avatar was too young to stop them. Tenzin wondered about Korra, sometimes. She was so different from his peaceable father, a hot-burning determination, a lack of social skills, and an undisciplined attitude.

If only she was old enough and had mastered the elements. She could stop this. It was her duty as the Avatar to stop this madness, to fix the World and bring balance. Was she really the Avatar? All the reports Tenzin had gotten indicated that she was unable to learn earthbending, despite all the White Lotus’s attempts to teach her. Maybe she was just a late bloomer. Maybe it was the fact that she was locked up in the compound, unable to go on her Avatar journey. She was almost seventeen and should have gone on her journey a year ago. No, that couldn’t be it. They had made the right decision to keep her safe. Hadn’t they?

The squawking and whoosh of feathers of a messenger hawk flying through his window pulled Tenzin from his worries about Korra. He skillfully unclasped the message from its holder on the hawk, and clasped the container closed again. The hawk stared at him expectantly, and Tenzin offered it some of the sweet fruit he’d been snacking on. The hawk screeched in offense, and snottily took off from his perch on the sill. It wasn’t Tenzin’s fault that he was a vegetarian, and so were all the native Air Nomad pets he owned.

He opened the scroll, and unsurprisingly it was another report from the White Lotus, urgently scribbled in haste.

_“Dated: 8.16.170._

_To: Master Airbender Tenzin of the Southern Air Temple_

_Dear Master Tenzin,_

_ The Freedom Fighters have met with the Earth Queen. As you know, the Queen has done nothing to stop their movement, and now, it looks like they’re attempting to ally themselves with her. The Dai Li have stopped our attempted meetings with the Earth Queen to discuss this matter. Espionage has also failed. _

_Because of the Freedom Fighter Movement, there have been an estimated 200 casualties of those of Fire Nation descent in the last week in Omashu, 450 in Ba Sing Se, and 2,500 in the Earth Kingdom as a whole. Most of those are injuries, but a confirmed 73 deaths have occurred. _

_We are doing our best to slow the movement, but largely have been unsuccessful. _

_  
We await your word,_

_Captain Jui of the White Lotus, _

_The Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se, _

_7 Imperial Way”_

Tenzin cursed, using some language that his children would have been sternly punished for using. Maybe Pema would have made them brush out the sky bison and clean their pens, or maybe they would be forced to clean the temple without using their bending. Airbenders can normally sweep and dust in a couple of seconds using their bending.

Of course, that was the exact moment the door creaked open, and his wife Pema walked in. “Now Tenzin, do I need to wash your mouth out with soap too, along with Ikki’s?” She was carrying some tea and her motherly smile had transformed into a cat-owl’s smirk.

“Maybe. Look at this though. I wish I knew what to do. My father would know,” Tenzin passed the report to her, trying to justify his language. Perhaps trying to get some pity as well.

He succeeded. Pema’s eyes widened. “Oh Spirits,” she said, “Oh Spirits,” she repeated, a little softer this time. Tenzin frowned, a grim look on his face.

“They’re not trying to hide anymore, are they?” Pema asked, having finally digested the information on the report.

“No, they’re not,” He said distantly, his forehead scrunched and his hand resting on it.

\----

Korra raced towards the large igloo of the central healing hut ahead. Naga knew exactly where they were going, and Korra didn’t even have to steer her forward to the hut. The blue banners of the main city of the Southern Water Tribe fluttered around them as they got closer. Naga skidded a little as they arrived, powerful muscles trying to stop a little too suddenly.

“Good girl. Stay here, alright?” Korra patted Naga’s head, and entered the hut. Her eyes adjusted from the nearly blinding white of the outside to the softly lit healing hut. Katara was hunched over, her weathered skin awash with the glowing light healing created.

“Hello Korra. Can you help with this hunter’s brother? They had an accident while hunting and were found just outside of town. Apparently this one passed out shortly before arriving here,” Katara greeted. Korra smiled, this wasn’t out of the ordinary, especially in the South Pole’s summer. The shifting ice floes and melting snow often caused all sorts of accidents during the season.

Korra sat down by the boy; he couldn’t have been older than seventeen. His lips were purplish blue and his skin was a bit paler than most members of the Water Tribes. He would be handsome if he didn’t have a large gash extending from his left cheekbone down to his chin. In time, it would fade to a hunting scar, an honorable achievement that would make him ruggedly handsome.

Bending the water skillfully she began to heal him. His chi pathways were all screwed up around his gash and his brain. After a while of mending him, his eyes fluttered open.

“Where is Arrluk? Where is my brother?” hoarse and distressed his voice crackled like logs in a fire.

“He’s right here. Don’t worry, Katara is healing him,” She smiled. Korra wondered who he was. Oftentimes, she recognized everyone from her small tribe, but this time she couldn’t. Were his parents Northerners who had recently moved here?

“Okay,” His eyes drifted over, noticing his brother by Katara. Korra continued to heal him.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Korra,” She smiled.

“Korra? I feel like I know someone named Korra,” He squinted a bit, “Anyways, my name is Hey,”

“Hey, Hey, you’ll be okay,” Korra giggled a little bit at her stupid joke then blushed. He probably thought she looked so stupid right now. She really sucked at making friends.

To her surprise, he smiled. “You know, I normally hate jokes like that, but as long as you promise not to do it again, we can be friends,”

Korra smiled, “Sure, Hey,”


End file.
